One Chance
by RogueStar
Summary: Jared can't always meet up the Warden's insane demands, and Warden just sees him as a 'screw-up'. But when a situation turns from bad to worst, can Jared prove otherwise, for Warden and himself? My first Superjail! fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It all happened so fast...

~Moments before~

The cafeteria was busy with the sound of inmates horffing down spoonfuls of the 'lunch special' and the occasional talking. Things went as they usually do, even when the doors flew out and in came the Superjail staff. Some of the prisoners looked over their shoulders for a second before going back to their meals. The party of three, plus one robot, made their way to the back of the room and sat in the same table they always sat in at noon.

Today's menu was too 'risky' to try, so the staff brought bagged lunches for today. Jailbot was already 'eating' with his portable charger. The rest started digging in, unaware that a few of the inmates at the opposite end of the cafeteria were still eying them.

Meal time for the staff was much like one of their 'meetings', only less formal. Short and sweet type conversation, an occasional laugh, to Jared's expense, or a random idea dreamed up from the Warden's mind. Alice rarely ever added to it, unless she had to, and Jailbot was busy changing. Today was one of those days.

Jared was his normal jittery self. He sat next to the Warden, watching him eat his bagged lunch of a PB&J and juice box. The nervous accountant took a bite of his burger before gathering what courage he had. He shallowed.

"...Sir, I wanted to discuss something with you quickly."

The Warden looked over with a mild irritated look on his face He was half way through chewing a bite.

"Oh! Um, I'll wait..."

Jared shifted in his seat as Warden finished shallowing. "What is it, Jared?"

"I, uh...about those requests you made the other day?"

"Yeees...?" Warden had that tone to his voice that made Jared's stomach cringe.

"Well...sir, um...its..." Jared started sweating bullets.

"Out with it, Jared.", said Warden, in a stern manner.

"We-don't-have-the-funds-for-it!-It-just-can't-be-done!"

There was a brief moment of silence followed but the sound of Warden getting off his chair to loom over his accountant.

"What was that, Jared? I don't think I caught that." He cupped his hand over his ear.

"I-I-I...said..."

"I know what you said!", shouted the Warden, right in Jared's face.

Warden began one of his harsh, verbal onslaught while Alice and Jailbot just say back and watched. This was so normal it was almost expected nearly ever lunchtime, in some way or form. So normal, not even the thought of being surrounded by the inmates lead to any extra level of precaution. Sure, Alice and Jailbot were there, but all one would need is the right moment...

The inmates that were watching the staff earlier saw that the Warden's angry lecture to Jared was keeping Alice and Jailbot busy. Two of them got up,

...and started a fight of their own. They began throwing punches, giving each other bloody lips and black eyes. Alice jumped to her feet to take care of it.

Just then, two more inmates, from the other end of the room, started duking it out. Alice was busy; Jailbot unplugged himself and zoomed over to break up the second brawling.

Warden was still giving Jared lip. Having a few fights break out in the cafeteria was not enough to stop the bosses words. Jared knew that all too well. He just saw there and took it. He was used to it.

"And you call yourself an accountant?" Warden continued, making a 'phhh' sound after that comment. "It doesn't matter what it is, you always seems to find a way to screw something up!"

Suddenly the shadow that was still hovering over Jared got bigger. He looked up and saw a huge rough looking prisoner armed with one of the plastic trays.

"And one other thing, Jared-"

"Sir! Behind you!!"

The tray came swinging down, landing across the back of Warden's head. Jared screamed. The tray broke in two from the force of the blow. Warden fell flat on his face, just next to Jared. He was out cold.

Jared shouted for help just the prisoner and a few other inmates began beating an unconscious Warden. Alice and Jailbot realized it then; the first two fights were a ploy to lure them away from the Warden. Jared wasn't fit to defend himself either, but he wasn't the target anyways.

The guard and robot rushed in and 'controlled' the inmates. The rest of the prisoners ran away as Jailbot went into 'KILL MODE'. The group that attacked the Warden made a break for it out the room, but Jailbot went right after them.

Soon the cafeteria was empty, except for Alice and Jared, and Warden who laid on the floor, bruised, bleeding and still unconscious.

It all happened so fast...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"I-Is...is he...?"

Jared's chest tighten and trembled as he and Alice looked down at their bruised and battered boss. The guard keeled down and placed two fingers on the side of Warden's neck.

"...He's alive." She answered.

Jared let out a heavy sign.

"...But he's still beat up pretty bad."

Jared's heart started racing again. "Then we better get him to the Doctor!"

"No. Don't move him.", said Alice, "We don't know what's broken and what's not. We should at least try and sit him up." Alice very carefully turned the Warden over onto his left side. She lifted the back of his coat and undershirt up to view the full extend of the damage. Luckily there didn't seem to be any hits right to his spine, but there were some hasty bruises and scraps around the area and to his sides.

Alice looked over at Jared. "There should be a First-Aid kit in the kitchen. Go grab it."

Jared nodded and ran off. No less then a minute later he was back with a rather large First-Aid kit and a whole bunch of clean dish towels. He set them next to Alice.

"Whats the towels for?", she asked.

"Well...I was thinking if we sit him up he could use the support.", explained Jared.

Alice nodded in agreement. "Good idea, cause take a look at this."

She showed Jared all the swelling that was already starting to form around the Warden's injuries. The accountant cringed at the sight of it.

As Alice treated their boss' injuries, Jared set out the towels into a makeshift pillow with more on one end to support the Warden's head and neck. When Alice was finished she turned Warden over a second time, this time resting his now bandaged back onto the pile of towels.

"Now what?" Jared asked.

"I'm going to get the Doctor. You stay here and watch him.", answered Alice.

Before Jared could say 'okay', Alice was already gone, leaving him alone with the Warden. It was erringly quiet, not something Jared was used to. He looked down at his boss, who thankfully was still breathing. It was faint, but still noticeable.

He then looked at the open First Aid kit. Alice only needed a few things, like gaze and tape, but there were quite a few other things in there to help in a emergency situation. The Doctor himself must have been the one to provide the kits.

Jared keeled down next to the Warden. A moment of worry swiped over him when the injured man jerked a bit, but then went back to a resting state. Getting hit so many times in the back and sides would cause sudden bouts of spasms, Jared guessed. He wish there was something more he could do to help, but Alice had already took care of that, and was off to get the Doctor.

'I'm useless', thought the accountant.

He could hear the Warden yelling at him, like before, telling him how he always found some way to screw-up. Even with the Warden's crazy requests and ideas, Jared knew it was his job to fulfill them, and he knew the treatment he would get if that didn't happen. He thought he was used to it, but still, he had moments where he questions himself; whether or not the Warden even appreciated his attempt to carry out his word. Jared had been part of Superjail for so long, he felt he knew the Warden well enough, but he was still like a jigsaw puzzle with out-of-place, multicolored pieces.

Jared signed.

Then there was a faint moan.

Jared was startled for a second. He looked over to see Warden's eyes slowing opening. The jittery man was overcome with a sense of relief seeing his boss awake.

"Sir!"

Warden blinked a few times and looked around before finally noticing Jared. He was still feeling woozy, thanks to the plastic tray to the head earlier. He winced, gritting his teeth.

"...Jared? ...What...what the hell happened?" His voice sounded distant and a little confused.

"You were attacked from behind by a group of inmates." Jared explained. "Alice went to get the Doctor, so she should be-"

"Which inmates?"

"Uh...I don't know. It was all so fast, but I think it was a planned attack, sir."

Warden looked pissed. "Where are they now?"

"I think Jailbot went after them."

Warden smiled. "Then it's taken care of."

Jared gulped, understanding what that meant. They were no longer alive.

"Uh, sir? H-how are you feeling right now?

Warden didn't say anything of a moment, as if he had to think about it. "...Sore. Really sore." He then placed his hands on his chest. "And my chest feels kind of tight..." He flinched a bit.

Jared looked worried. "Well, you did get beat up quite a bit. You have some bad bruising, but nothing else."

Warden nodded. He suddenly looked a little pale, which made Jared grow even more uneasy. Alice had been gone for about five minutes now, but ever second felt like an minute, and each minute felt like an hour. As long as he stayed put and didn't move, he should be fine, right?

A few more minutes ticked by, with nothing said between the two men. Jared kept looked over at his boss to make sure he was still doing okay. He still had his hands on his chest, and if Jared didn't know any better, he'd say that his breathing looked a little...labored.

"...Sir? Are you-?"

"I'm FINE, Jared!" Warden snapped.

It was one thing for the Warden to have his usual bout of mood swings, but this time the tone in his voice nearly made Jared's heart stop. It was strained and forced out, not like earlier where he could have gone on and on about how Jared messed up again. No, this was different.

"How bad is it?", asked Jared, trying not to sound panicked but he was well on his way there.

"...How bad...is what?" Again, the words had to fight their way out of the Warden's mouth.

"The pain. Your in a lot pain, aren't you?"

"No." There was a pause. "...Maybe."

Suddenly, he grabbed his chest and began to cough violently. Jared froze for moment, realizing that this could be a lot worst then it looks, and Alice still wasn't back yet.

"Where the hell is she?!"

Without hesitation, Jared got out his video pager and punched in Alice's number. There was static at first, then Alice's face appeared on the screen.

"Alice! Where the hell are you?!" Jared shouted. He officially panicking now.

Alice's face was a little fuzzy but his voice was load and clear. "I'm still looking for that stupid Doctor. He wasn't in his lab. What the matter?"

"It's the Warden! I-I think he's in really bad shape. He's having trouble breathing, a-and he's coughing, and..I don't know what to do!" Jared starting to tremble.

"Damn it!", cursed Alice. She could hear Warden's coughing in the background, and Jared was right, it didn't sound good at all. "Alright, listen! I'm going to go check the experimental weapons level. That quack has to be there if not in the lab."

"Alice...what should I do?", asked Jared. His hands could barely hang on to the pager, he was shaking so bad.

"Just...keep watching him!" The brief pause in she words showed she was just as worried. "Talk to him, try to calm him down, anything. But you have to calm down first! It's not going to do any good if your freaking out too."

"...O-okay."

"Page me again if something else happens, alright? Out." The fuzzy image of Alice went away, leaving Jared with her words.

'I have to calm down... I have to calm down...'

"Jared...?"

The accountant turned around to face his boss. He was even paler now, and he breathing had gotten worst; it was pretty apparent now.

"W-was that...A-alice...?" Warden asked.

"Y-yeah." Jared thought a for moment before adding on, "She'll be here with the Doctor in no time. You're going to be okay, sir."

Warden just stared at him for what seemed like eternity. "...Are y-you sure?'

Jared's little white lie wasn't good enough. He shallowed the dry lump in his throat and tried again. "It's Alice, sir. You know she'll get the job done, right?" He added a smile this time.

"........."

"...Sir?"

"...Your lying."

Jared's face fell. "No, sir! I wouldn't-"

Warden clutched his chest again. A painful wail escaped from his throat this time. Jared keeled by his side.

"Warden?! WARDEN!"

He tried to speak but nothing came out. His breathing was short and rapid. His face looked clammy and was starting to turn blue.

"Oh God...!" Jared was lost. He didn't know what to do, how to help. His boss was fighting for his life right in front of him and he was powerless to do anything.

Suddenly, one of Warden's hands shot out and grabbed Jared by the front of his suit. He yanked him down to his eye level. Jared could hear every labored gasped for air, and his heart was pumping abominably fast as well. Jared noticed a tear forming in the corners of his boss' eye.

"J-Jaa...red. …...H-h-hel-p meee...!"

Jared couldn't say a word. He was scared; at a complete lost of just what to do.

Just then, his pager went off. In the mist of the situation, he grabbed it as fast as possible and looked at it. It was Alice.

"I've found the Doctor! How's the Warden?", she asked over the speaker.

Jared didn't answer. Instead he turned his pager around so that Alice could see for herself.

"...Shit!"

"Woman! Give me that pager! Quick!"

Jared recognized that extra voice in the background. He turned his pager back around. The Doctor's face was now on the screen

"Jared! Do you read me?", the Doctor asked.

"Y-yeah!"

"I need to check the Warden full condition. Could you unbutton his shirt so I can see?"

Jared didn't ask questions. Placing the pager between his teeth he quickly started to unbutton his boss' yellow shirt. Warden was now floating somewhere between conscious and unconscious; he didn't seem to realize what was happening now.

Jared opened the shirt. He gasped, nearly dropping the pager from his teeth.

The right side of Warden's chest looked like a half deflated balloon, going up and down with every painful intake of air.

"Just as I thought.", said the Doctor."Spontaneous tension pneumothorax."

Jared took the pager out of his mouth. "A what?"

"He's suffering from a severe collapsed lung. Air is building around the lung, making it hard for him to breathe, and it's putting severe pressure on his heart!"

"Then what are you waiting for?! Get over here and help! Please!" Jared cried.

"The tools I need are back in my lab. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to make it in time."

Jared's face lost all its color.

"There's only ONE way to save him, and you have to do it, Jared."

Jared gripped the pager like it was going to run away. "I'll do it! What is it?"

"You have one of my First Aid kits with you, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good, cause everything you need should be in the top right-hand corner of that kit."

Jared looked next to him where the kit has been sitting the whole time. In the top right-hand corner he saw three items; a 14-gauge needle with a catheter attached to it (in plastic), some sort of valve and a packet of wipes soaked in rubbing alcohol.

"Do exactly as I tell you.", said the Doctor. "Look at the Warden's right side and place your finger right in the middle of his chest. Make sure I can see you doing this."

The accountant did just that. "Good, now move it directly across to the right side till I tell you to stop." Jared did so. "Right there. Can you feel the clavicle bone?"

"Yes."

"From there, go two ribs down, and stop."

"Right here?" Jared pointed at a spot just below the Warden's collar bone.

"That's perfect. Can you mark that?"

Jared took out a small pen he always carried around with him and made a little X where the Doctor said to mark.

At this point, Warden was still breathing, but he was out of it, staring off onto the ceiling. He barely moved or jerked. He's body temp started to drop as well; Jared could tell.

The Doctor continued to rely his instructions to Jared, telling to to apply the rubbing alcohol where he marked, making sure not to rub the X away.

"Now Jared, the needle."

He held the open needle and looked down at his boss. "...Am I going to...?"

"Yes, you are going to insert that needle, at a 90 degree angle, till you hit the pocket of air that's trapped around his lung."

The shakes started up again. It finally hit Jared that he was about to do something that, with one small mistake, could kill the Warden. He bit his lip and stared at the needle. It looked easy enough; just a downward insertion, like marking a flag in the dirt, right? Only the dirt has veins and blood and a lung that's already in trouble. He could hear the Warden's angry words from earlier, which wasn't that long ago, maybe less then thirty minutes, but they still were fresh in his mind.

"Jared! What are you waiting for, man!?", shouted the Doctor.

"...I...what if I...?"

Then he remembered, the look on Warden's face moments before Alice paged him with the Doctor. That pain induced tear on the corner of his eye.

'Help me.'

Those were the last things he said to him. He wasn't going to let it be the last thing he'll ever say.

He took a deep breath and placed the needle right where he made the X, and inserted the needle about 2 cm straight down. He startled a bit when the sound of air came rushing out from the open end. It sounded like a punctured tire.

"Good. That's just what we want to hear.", said the Doctor, with a heavy but relieved sigh.

The Warden's chest slowly took back it's normal shape. His breathing was still a little shallow, but he started to get the colors back in his face, going from blue to a healthy skin tone.

"One last thing, Jared. Remove the needle while keeping the catheter in place and install the flutter valve."

Jared did so, and could see the 'flutter' valve was designed to let air out but not in, so that air pressure could not build up again.

"Good job. We'll be there in about five minutes.", said the Doctor before the pager shut off.

Jared continued to keep an eye on the Warden till Alice and the Doctor came running into the cafeteria. Jared stepped back to let the Doctor do his thing.

Everything that had happened in past 45 minutes finally caught up with the jittery accountant. He lost all feelings in his legs and was out on the floor.

Alice and the Doctor looked over at him laying on the floor, fainted.

"He'll be fine.", said Alice.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It's been three days since the attack in the SuperJail cafeteria. According to the Doctor, Warden should make a full recovery, but he had to stay bedridden for almost a week; no major activities.

On the first day the Warden just slept the whole time, thanks to the powerful painkillers the Doctor gave him. The second day was much of the same, only he would wake up every two to three hours, bored out of his mind. By the third day he started to think he may die from boredom.

There just wasn't anything to do when you couldn't get out of bed. Besides, he was reminded just why he was in the situation he was in every time he looked at his right side. The Doctor had inserted a 'chest tube' into the area where he suffered his tension pneumothorax, or 'collapsed lung'. It didn't hurt, but was just freaky to look at; a long clear tube sticking out of your side, connected to a plastic container for fluid to drain out of. Truth be told, it made the Warden a little sick to his stomach.

Breathing still was something Warden felt more then he should, but compared to the pain he felt three days ago, he was used to it now.

Laying in his bed, propped up with pillows in a reclining fashion, he just stared off into space, reflecting on what happened three days ago. The earliest thing he could remember was yelling at Jared about something, whatever it was. That's when he felt a major blow to the back of his head. Then he woke up, with Jared hovering over him.

From that point on, it got scary. His chest just felt...wrong. Like something was building up inside and it didn't have a escape route. He didn't tell Jared about it, thinking maybe it was all in his head; the pain was due to the inmates beating him up. What could have Jared done about it anyways, he wasn't that reliable, at least, that's what the Warden was thinking at the time.

Then Jared started asking questions, and Warden wanted to deny each one of them. He wanted to deny that he may have been in some serious danger. That was never something he wanted to hear. It wasn't good for his heart. He was afraid of Death, there's no question about that, and he be damed if he let his accountant start talking about the possibility that he may be knocking on that door.

That denial didn't last long. That must have been when his lung started to 'collapsed', cause it was the worst thing he had ever felt in his life. Sharp, ungodly pain that ripped through his chest and back, like something was going to burst out any moment. When he coughed, it only made it worst.

When Jared was paging Alice, that's when Warden realized he really was in deep trouble. His heart took off racing, and his breathing with it. He felt dizzy, he was sweating, in great pain, and scared shit-less. He could have sworn he seen Death himself peeking around one of the corners of the room, waiting, grinning, saying to him, 'It's about damn time, Warden'.

That's when Warden spoke to Jared, asking him about Alice, but in reality, he just wanted someone to talk to. When the nervous man told Warden that Alice would be coming back soon with the Doctor, he couldn't hide the underlining tone in his voice. Warden just looked at him, with a blank, expressionless face. He knew he was lying to him, and told him that. 'You were never a good lier, Jared', that's what Warden wanted to say to him next...

...but that's when it all went downhill. The Warden was hit with a pain so great it nearly shut off his airway. His heart doubled in speed and his vision blurred. He remembered Jared being right there, by his side, looking more scared then usual.

'Oh my God, this is it...!'; those words tumbled around in Warden's mind at that moment. He saw his whole life flash before. He didn't think that what would really happen, but it did. He saw his Father, the day he got Superjail as a child, when he created Jailbot, met Jared and Alice; everything.

'Please! I don't want to die!'

That's when he grabbed the only friend he had at the moment. With what strength he had left, he pulled Jared down and forced out the last thing he said before everything went black...

'J-Jaa...red. …...H-h-hel-p meee...!'

And that was it. That's when he lost consciousness, not knowing if he would wake up again. But he did, a few hours later in his room, surrounded by Alice, Jailbot, and the Doctor. Jared was no where to be seen. After a brief explanation by the Doctor about his condition, Warden asked where was Jared.

"He saved you.", answered Alice. "Then he fainted on his ass."

Warden was given the whole story from the point when he blacked out. He couldn't believed what he heard, what Jared did. That fact that he even did it; if he hadn't heard it from Alice and the others, he wouldn't have believed it.

A knock on his bedroom door shook the Warden out of his reflecting.

"S-Sir...? Are you awake now?"

Warden's eyes widened. He hadn't seen or talked to Jared since the attack. "...Yeah. Come on in."

The door slowly opened and Jared walked in, with a little smile on his face. "How are you feeling, sir?"

There was moment of silence. "...I'm fine. Where have you been, Jared?"

Jared looked confused. "I was...well, after what happened, the Doctor said I should get some rest. I did, but then I had to get back to work. There was a lot of paperwork to fill out."

"For what?", asked Warden.

"I think we can afford those requests you made." Jared answered. "I've found a few 'loopholes' in the numbers and I think we we'll have the money for it now."

"...Oooh yeah, that's what I was yelling at you about." Warden recalled out loud.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"That's great, Jared." Warden looked away for a moment, which seemed a little odd to Jared.

"...Sir, are you sure you're feeling better?"

"Come over here, Jared."

"Y-yes, sir!"

Jared walked over to his boss' bedside. Warden seemed to be pondering something, and Jared didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"...I heard what you did, Jared."

"What I...did, sir?"

"...and I have to say, I was shocked."

"Shocked?" It didn't click yet for Jared.

Warden's hand suddenly came down on the accountant's shoulder. Jared characteristically jumped.

"Thank you, Jared."

Jared's eyes grew. He wasn't sure if he heard that right. A 'thank you'? From the Warden??

"Now get out. I'm going back to sleep."

Jared shook his head. "Oh! Uh-yes, sir!" He walked out the door, peeking back in to see Warden getting back under his covers, signing deeply. He then closed the door.

Just outside the bedroom, Jared stopped to let it all sink in. The Warden wasn't one to be 'humbled' in anyway. He was the boss, plain and simple, and anything he said goes. However, three days ago, he was in a situation where he didn't have any control, and his life was suddenly called to question.

Jared never really thought about it like that till now. Warden must have been terrified out of his mind. Terrified and helpless. Sometimes it takes a serious situation to bring out other sides in people. Jared has seen the other side of his boss; the side that wasn't 'in control', a weaker, more human side.

He realized one other thing; the Warden wasn't just thanking him for doing something right, he was thanking him for saving his life. The others have told Jared this, even Alice, which is rare to get a complement out of her any day. It didn't hit the accountant till he heard it come from Warden's own mouth.

Jared could help but smile. It was a real smile. He finally did something that proved he was of good use, that he didn't always 'screw-up', and the Warden saw that. He thanked him for it. Warden thanked him for saving his life. Yeah, it was a short and sweet thanks, but this was the Warden. To Jared, that was the best thing you could get out of him.

The accountant walked away from the bedroom door, still smiling. He smiled all day, for the first time in years, he was smiling all day.

END


End file.
